Are you buying Blu-ray or HD DVD this Christmas?

[Audioholics]

We want to know! Are you using this holiday season as an excuse to go with a high definition DVD format? Whether it's the PS3 or a standalone player, we want to find out what you're planning to do by the end of the year.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

1. Don't vote if you ALREADY own one (unless you plan to buy another) Feel free, however to join in the discussion
2. Don't vote for your favorite format - this is not about opinion, but actual purchase plans
3. Don't vote if you merely WANT one or the other for Christmas - this is for hard purchase plans only

Thanks!

 

[Highlander]

Feel free, however to join in the discussion.

I'd vote "nope" but can't say for sure about the "3 years" part, so I've not.

I'll not be buying a high-definition player this year and it's highly unlikely for Christmas 08/09 either. I intend on using my existing kit for at least another year or two - quite possibly longer - before any further upgrades.

 

[fmw]

Nope. Already own both.

 

[stratman]

I voted no way, not untill this Christmas season passes, then let's see what China will do. Will they flood the market with cheap HD DVD based hardware? I'm still stinging from LD and Mini Disc. I refuse to get into a dead-end format again!

 

[ducker]

I picked no... I MIGHT buy a blue-ray player... but I doubt it will be before this Christmas.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I decided a long time ago to simply get a PS3 and call it a day. Gotta say that I'm really psyched on the format. I have no intentions of buying any stand alone players for more than a year or so - when prices come down some and one format (or both) show they have the stuff to maintain long term survivability.

To many fans screaming one way or the other, but I will get a combo player if that's the direction the market heads. No idea right now though - and there definitely isn't a clear cut winner/loser or even much direction to the market right now.

 

[gmichael]

I plan on picking up a PS3 in November.

 

[supervij]

Might do it late '08 or early '09, but certainly not this holiday season. The Oppo's upconversion is good enough that I'm content to wait.
La la la la la la la.

cheers,
supervij

 

[The Dukester]

I chose no, but it's not a definate no. Depends on the deals on Black Friday It the right player is on sale low enough, I'll bite. If not, I'll wait till after CES and see what else is coming out. As for format, I'm leaning towards HD DVD.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

I am not at all sure that I will ever buy either one. A good DVD transfer looks/sounds plenty good enough to me, while a poor transfer would not show any benefit from the higher resolution. I also have a huge amount of $ invested in standard DVDs already. The final nail in the coffin is that I find the stupid "format war" extremely off-putting.

 

[Davemcc]

I have to vote no. My display is 720p and I don't plan to upgrade any time soon, so I think it would just be a waste. Nevermind the cost of the player, the media content is too expensive for my tastes.

 

[Dolby CP-200]

Well I’m not fully convinced yet its going to suit the needs for Dolby 7.1 discrete there just isn’t many movie companies pushing anything that is controversial enough to even make me consider to start saving up for what is close to £900.00 pounds at best for most HD-DVD and Blu-Ray.

So no, I will not be installing HD or Blu-Ray until there this only ONE format left standing to serve the needs of the consumer market place.

 

[Alamar]

I would like to upgrade to HD sources [whoever wins .. preferable HD-DVD] eventually but I've got to agree with other people that it's not worth the investment to me right now.

I need a serious speaker / receiver / subwoofer upgrade first. Before I would notice the video quality difference I'd need to get my set calibrated .... So this upgrade is way down on the list.

Anyway the costs for ownership of the software is silly-high at this point. I'll start looking again when most HD movies are in the 14 - 20$ range.

 

[Nomo]

Nope. First of all I'm still stubbornly holding out for a universal player that does both DVD-A and SACD.

(allows laughter to subside)

Plain and simple, IMO, it's still too early in the game. Format war aside, It doesn't appear that either format player is even approaching the full potential of HD format. At least not for under a thousand bucks.

Further mare I plan to hold on to my 1080i RP TV for at least another year.
I have no use for 1080p at this point.

 

[Alamar]

When I can do the following I'll jump into the high-def area:

1. Get a decent stand-alone player for 199$ [thus crappy ones are 99$]
2. Get movies for about 15$ a pop.
3. Have a reasonable expectation that I can get players for that format for the next 10 years or so.
4. Pretty much everything is coming out in that one particular format.

From the looks of things though I might be waiting a loooonnnngggg time

 

[Jim Robbins]

I already own the Toshiba A2, but I plan on Buying the A30 or A35 before Christmas. I really like my A2, much better than I expected, to be honest with you. I just recently purchased an HDTV for a room other than my main projection HT man cave, and I really want to have HD movies on it, as well. I thought about getting a PS3 so I could enjoy blueray as well, but it's just over kill since I own an XBox and a Wii, and there just aren't any games good enough to draw me over to the dark side. *laugh* Yeah, both my Wii and 360 are white. But I am not a console racist! I did buy a mostly black Sony TV, after all... Actually, I'd prefer is my 360 and Wii were black, as well. Electronics are just supposed to be black, so they can fade into the darkness when you turn the lights down!

 

[WayneC]

Already own the Toshiba HD-A2 ... but my mother is talking about taking the HD-DVD plunge now that she's seen the a few titles on my tv.

 

[jwenthold99]

Nope. I own a 1080P set, and I have the audio system to take advantage of the HD sound formats, but I will not spend the money until I know the format I choose will be around for a while. I am a little hesitant on this decision from the SACD lack of widespread acceptance.

 

[AbyssalLoris]

Supervij and Davemcc said it already.

I just bought a 720p TV and I'm clearly not all that interested in HD (1080p) content. I wouldn't see any difference on my existing TV. The cost of the media is too high. The Oppo's upconversion is just fine.

A game console may be something to think about (simply because it is a game console, at least for me). If I get HD that way, I won't say no. But even that route is unlikely at the moment, as I'm laying off the games for a while. Besides, console is not really my style. I'm a PC guy.

 

[Def Tech Guy]

My choice is not listed.

I WILL buy when there is a combo player without any reported issues that costs only slighty more then an individual player of either type.

Or I WOULD buy if there were a BluRAy player that also played HD DVD that was truly rated as quality and not the China junk.

There are not yet enough choices of the developing hardware. So I am not willing to spend $1k for something that will be bettered in months.